Australia's CBA says court approves rate-manipulation settlement

(Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) (CBA.AX) said on Thursday the federal court had approved its settlement with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in relation to allegations it manipulated the bank bill swap rate (BBSW).

CBA reached the settlement with the regulator in May, in which it admitted that it engaged in “unconscionable conduct” in the course of trading on the BBSW market in Australia on five occasions from February through June 2012.

The regulator filed a lawsuit in 2016 alleging three of Australia’s biggest lenders had rigged the BBSW for profit from 2010 through 2012, and in January this year started legal proceedings against CBA over the allegations.

The bank agreed to pay a A$5 million ($3.7 million) penalty, A$15 million to a financial consumer protection fund and A$5 million towards the regulator’s costs.

On Wednesday, CBA said the federal court approved a settlement of civil proceedings related to money laundering charges.

Shares of the bank were up 1.3 percent on Thursday, in line with a largely positive market .

Reporting by Ambar Warrick in BENGALURU; Editing by Stephen Coates and Christopher Cushing